FROM  THE 

PUBLIC^  tf.  ^LEDGER 


Sixth   and   Chestnut   Sts. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

MONDAY,  FEB.  27,    1911 

DR.  SNOW  AND  VIVISECTION 


The    London      Physician's    Opinions 
Tested  by  His  Recorded  Testimony. 

To  the  Editor  of  Public  Ledger: 

Sir— The  coming  of  Dr.  Herbert  Snow,  of 
London,  appears  to  be  a  notable  event  in  anti- 
vivisection  circles.  It  may  not,  therefore,  be 
out  of  place  to  inquire  who  Doctor  Snow  is  and 
what  are  his  self-recorded  opportunities  and 
opinions. 

Doctor  Snow  is  not  on  the  list  of  members 
of  the  British  Medical  Association  for  1906 
(the  latest  list  I  have).  His  name  is  not 
found  in  several  of  the  ordinary  biographical 
dictionaries  accessible  here,  nor  even  in  the 
British   "Who's  Who." 

His  opinions,  however,  have  been  put  upon 
record  by  himself  in  the  report  of  the  Royal 
Commission  on  Vivisection  and  in  his  address 
in  Philadelphia  on  Monday,  February  20.  He 
says  (Vivisection  Commission  report,  October 
to  December,  1906,  question  2313),  "I  am 
afraid  I  am  getting  very  rusty  now,"  and, 
again,  "I  am  getting  old"  (question  2213). 
ii.at  his  assertions  are  true  is  clear  from  the 
following   facts: 

In  his  Philadelphia  address  he  is  reported  in 
the  Public  Ledger  (February  21,  1911)  to 
have  attacked  the  germ  theory  of  diseases. 
and  is  quoted  as  saying  that  "Not  in  a  single 
instance  had  science  been  able  to  prove  that 
a  germ  was  the  real  cause  of  a  disease."  Now. 
the  germ  theory  is  as  well  established  as  that 
the  earth  moves  around  the  sun.  If  he  has 
been  correctly  quoted,  it  necessarily  follows 
that  his  medical  views  are  mediaeval  and  not 
modern. 

He  never  reads  the  Journal  of  Physiology 
(Q.  2225)  His  opinions,  he  says,  are  formed 
by  the  reports  he  sees  in  the  papers,  and  when 
asked.    "Do   vou   mean  scientific   papers   or   lay 


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journals?"  he  says,  "Mostly  lay  journals" 
(Q.  2317,  2318).  No  wonder  that  he  is  "very 
rusty." 

He  never  saw  any  experiments  upon  animals 
while  a  student  (Q.  2218)  and  apparently  none 
since.  His  only  knowledge  of  mouse  tumors 
is  from  literature;  he  never  saw  any  (Q.  2184, 
2185,  2186)  He.  however,  ventures  to  pro- 
nounce these  cancer  experiments  on  animals 
"useless,  cruel  and  misleading"  (Q.  2222  and 
2223).  Yet  he  accepts  as  true  the  statement  of 
the  Cancer  Research  Fund  that  "a  tumor  even 
of  greater  weight  than  the  mouse  itself  does 
not  necessarily  *  *  *  impair  the  general 
health"    (Q.   2108). 

He  actually  declares  that  "the  microscope 
should  never  be  called  in  except  to  verify  an 
opinion  already  formed  or  at  least  probable" 
(Q.  2252)'  What,  then,  is  the  use  of  tne 
microscope? 

He  proposed  that  a  cancer  congress  should 
be  called  tQ.  2210),  but  when  one  was  held  at 
Heidelberg  and  Frankfort  he  "really  knew 
nothing  about  it  beyond  the  fact  that  there 
was  a  congress"  (Q.  2214).  He  also  proposed 
to  the  commission  a  number  of  fundamental 
changes  in  the  British  act  regulating  experi- 
ments, yet  actually  confessed  "I  have  never 
read   the   act"    (Q.    2343)! 

When  he  was  asked,  "Do  you  find  any  fault 
with  the  present  gentlemen  who  are  licensed 
under  the  act?"  he  expressly  declares,  "I  do 
not,"  thus  holding  blameless  Horsley,  Starling, 
Bayliss,   Schafer,  etc. 

He  is  even  actually  in  favor  of  vivisection, 
ror  he  says  that  if  a  germ  which  might  cause 
cancer  were  found,  "I  dare  say  that  the  ques- 
tion of  experiments  on  animals  might  arise" 
(Q.  22SS).  He  admits  that  under  very  excep- 
tional conditions  there  should  be  such  experi- 
ments, and  when  asked,  "Do  you  mean  pain- 
ful or  painless  experiments  or  both?"  re- 
plied,   "Both"    (Q.  2227,  2228)! 

He  goes  even  further  and  says  he  "would 
recommend  their  (i.  e. ,  special  licenses  for  ex- 
periments on  animals)  being  granted  to  any 
one  who  had  any  special  line  of  research  to 
pursue  practically"  (Q.  2414).  In  the  case  of 
a  new  drug,  he  says  he  "would  rather  try  It 
on  an  animal  first"  than  on  a  man,  and  "thinks 
that  this  is  justifiable"  (Q.  2322,  2323),  yet  In 
his  Philadelphia  address  he  declares  (Public 
L/Edgek  report)  that  "Between  them  (men  ana 
animals)  there  is  an  enormous  gulf  that  can- 
not be  bridged  bv  the  efforts  of  the  vivisec- 
tors." 

Any  one  wishing  to  consult  the  full  text  of 
his  testimony  can  see  it  in  the  library  of  the 
College  of  Physicians,  22d  street  above  Chest- 
nut street.  W.  W.  KEEN. 

Philadelphia,   February  25,   1911. 


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